Ice tray



Jan. 18, 1949. D. L. JOCELYN ICE TRAY Filed Oct. 25, 1945 I N VEN TOR.flau glzs JZceZ z m a mm *n M Patented Jan. 18, 1949 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE ICE TRAY Douglas L. Jocelyn, Detroit, Mich.

Application October 25, 1945, Serial No. 624,498 (Cl. 62-108.5)

11' Claims. 1

This invention relates to liquid freezing receptacles and particularly,although not exclusively, to ice trays of the kind having a plurality ofindependent or individual molds or receptacles useful in refrigeratorsfor quick freezing purposes.

An object of the invention is to provide an ice tray or other liquidfreezing device having a frame structure for supporting a plurality ofindividual freezing-receptacles and improved means for locating andpositioning the receptacles with respect to the supporting framestructure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a liquid freezing deviceembodying an improved receptacle supporting framework.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ice tray frameconstructed withcbottom runners or members for supporting the individualfreezing receptacles and a partition or rib member extending from end toend intermediate the sides of the frame constructed to support andstiffen the bottom runners and thereby assist in maintaining the runnersin proper heat exchange relation to the receptacles and to the bottom ofthe refrigerator freezing compartment.

Still another object of the invention is to form the tray frame for theindividual freezing receptacles from a single sheet or blank of metalwith an intermediate partition or rib or double wall constructiondividing the frame into receptacle receiving spaces and with bottomreceptacle contacting heat exchange runners projecting integrally fromthe lower edges of the partition or rib walls, the sides of the framebeing formed with receptacle ejector openings. permitting insertion ofthe fingers to force the receptacles and their frozen contents out ofthe frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tray frame for receivingindividual freezing receptacles which will furnish more contact area forthe receptacles thereby accelerating the freezing of the liquidcontentsthereof, and which also may be manufactured at-relatively low cost whileat the same time having the requis strength and rigidity so as to resistbending and twisting strains and as a consequence prolonging theuse-"Aofi n p neful life thereof.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptionand appended claims, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawinvention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orcarried out in various ways.

" Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminologyemployed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

In the present embodiment of the invention, herein illustrated by way ofexample, the skeleton frame structure for receiving the freezingreceptacles is formed from a single sheet or blank of material, such assheet aluminum or steel. The sheet is stamped or drawn by means ofsuitable dies in a press to provide a generally rectangular framecomprising two parallel longitudinal side members or rails in, atransverse end member or rail II, a handle I2, and a longitudinallyextending division or partition member or rib l3. The members it) and IIextend continuously around three sides of the frame. and the handlemember [2 is formed integrally with the members I0 and completes thefourth side of the frame. The 'division'or partition member or rib I3extends the full length of the tray frame and merges integrally into theend member I I and the handle I2. The handle i2 is pressed into shape soas to enable it to be readily grasped for the purpose of withdrawing thetray from the refrigerator freezin compartment or evaporator.

The division or partition member i3 preferably extends to the height ofthe side members i0, end member II and handle 12, so that in the presentembodiment the upper surfaces of the parts III, II, It and I3 lie insubstantially a The partition member or rib l3 drawn. into invertedsubstantially V-shape and is of double wall construction from the top tothe bottom of the tray frame, being thus formed with spaced dependingwalls I311 and i317 which ings forming a part of this specification wh ri extend in somewhat diverging relation toward like referencecharactersdesignate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tray frame carrying a number ofindividual liquid freezing the bottom of the tray frame. The metal sheetor blank is drawn or stamped to provide horizontal bottom runners orreceptacle supporting members H and I5, these members extendingintegrally in receptacles or molds constructed in accordance oppositedirections from the lower edges of the of the tray the runners l4 and l5terminate in upwardly=extending iriclined portions l6 and I1 and in likemanner the front ends of these runners terminate in upwardly inclinedportions l8.

In fabricating the skeleton frame of the tray it is preferred that theside and end members or rails l and H be formed into inverted generallyU-shape. Thus, the members l0 are of U-shape construction having spaceddepending flanges Illa and lllb, and the end member II is also ofU-shape construction having spaced depending flanges H0, and llb. Theflanges llla merge seamlessly into the flange Ila, thus extendingcontinuously around three sides of the frame and merging into the handlel2 at the fourth side. The upright end portions l6 and I1 extending fromthe rear ends of the runners l4 and I5 not only merge seamlessly intothe flanges I lb of the end frame member but also form integralcontinuations of the rear ends of the side walls l3a and l3b,of thepartition member or rib. A similar construction is provided at the frontend of the tray frame in which the upright end portions l8 of therunners merge seamlessly into the handle l2 and also the side walls ofthe partition member.

Thus, it will be seen from the foregoing construction that the trayframe is adapted to be formed by press operations from a single sheet orblank of metal with the central double wall partition member or ribdividing the tray frame into longitudinal receptacle receiving spacesand with the bottom receptacle supporting runners l4 and I5 formed asintegral parts of the partition member as well as the end members of theframe. The bottom supporting members or runners l4 and I5 are not onlyconstructed so as to enable the tray to be slid easily into and out ofthe freezing unit of the refrigerator but also to provide with the wallsof the partition member ample areas of contact for the freezingreceptacles, thereby accelerating the freezing of the liquid contents ofthe receptacles. Each runner l4 and I5 is embossed at suitable intervalsto provide semi-spherical lugs or embossments l9 projecting upwardlyfrom the plane of the bottom of the runner. In the present embodimentsix embossments l9 are formed on each of the runners l4 and I5 and theseembossments are arranged and located so as to lie substantially at thecenters of the freezing receptacles or cups when positioned within thetray frame.

The flanges ll'lb of the side rails or frame members ID are embossed orpressed inwardly at intervals to provide grid projections or ribs 20.Also, the walls l3a and lib of the partition member l3 are embossed orpressed to form grid projections or ribs '2l and 22,'respectively. Theselatter ribs or lugs 2l and 22.are formed tdaagreater height than thelugsoraproilections 20 and taper downwardly and' inwardly [so as to mergeinto the lower portions of theside walls as illustrated in Fig. 2. Itwill be seen that the sets of ribs or projections 20, 2l and'22 arearranged diametrically opposite one another, thus in eflect dividing thespace within the tray frame at each side of the partition member intosix receptacle received spaces. 7

For freezing purposes the tray frame of the present embodiment isdesigned to receive twelve receptacles, cups or molds 23 arranged in tworows at oppositesides of the grid or partition member l3. It will beunderstood that the tray frame may be constructed to receive a lesser orlarger number of cups or molds. In the pres- 75 rib members or proj 10.2i and 22 will not partition side walls I311 and l3b. At the rear enrr'ent instance each mold or receptacle 23 is formed from thermoplasticmaterial of suitable gage or thickness, and in preferred practice thereceptacles are molded or drawn in a press under'heat and pressure fromthermoplastic material in sheet form. a

As illustrated, each receptacle or mold '23 is of generally rectangularshape formed with a substantially flat bottom and upright side wallswhich may taper or incline somewhat upwardly and outwardly in order tofacilitate removal of the frozen contents. The molds or receptacles areof a size and depth so as to produce cubes or blocks of desired size. Inpreferred practice each receptacle is molded or drawn from a blank ofsheet material in a press by means of dies heated to a suitabletemperature, such as in the neighborhood of from 230 to 260 F.', whichrenders the material sufllciently soft and flowable to enable it to bedrawn by the dies to the desired depth and shape. bottom of eachreceptacle or container 23 is embossed to provide a concave orsemi-spherical recess 24 corresponding substantially to the shape of thelug or embossment' l 9 and arranged so that when the receptacle isplaced in the tray one of the lugs or embossments l9 will substantiallyfit into the notch or recess 24 in the bottom of the receptacle, thuskeying or restraining the receptacle against longitudinal or lateraldisplacement. The upper marginal edge of each receptacladuring themolding operation, is turned outwardly and thence downwardly to providea rolled edge 25 extending continuously around the rim of the receptacleand which, due to its rib or channel construction, strengthens andreinforces the edge.

any case wher the cup or receptacle is partially supported upon theframe when placed in the tray. Moreover, the rolled edges 25 will abutagainst each other and prevent the edges from overlapping where someplay exists between the receptacles and the grid members 20, 2| and 22-.permitting a slight amount of longitudinal or transverse displacement.of the receptacles.-

Such small amount of play will frequently occur owing to manufacturinginaccuracies and tolerances permitting shifting of the receptaclesslightdistances within the receptacle spaces." In such: cases ifthe'flanged edges of the receptacles were iflat thesexdges would shiftinto overlapping relation and would often freeze together rendering itdiflicult to separate the receptacles. By constructing the receptacleswith marginal turned-down or rolled edges as shown at 25, any shiftingof the receptacles will merely'result in the edges abutting without anydanger of their overlapping. The rolled edges of the cups, therefore,assist in keeping the receptacles in proper positions and in separatedrelation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the cups or receptacles 23, whenplaced within the tray, will normally'rest upon the bottom supportingmembers or runners l 4 and IS with the cups keyed in position againstdisplacement by the cooperating lugs and recesses l8 and 24. The variousDuring this molding operation the only serve as a means for locating andguiding the receptacles into their proper positions when using a gage ofapproximately fifteen thousandths of an inch. Receptacles having wallthicknesses on this order have been found to give relatively fastfreezing time as well as enabling the ice block to be removed veryeasily where metallic powder or grains have been dispersed properposition against substantial longitudinal displacement by the ribs orprojections 20, 2i and 22 which extend inwardly a suflicient distance toabut against the opposite side walls-of the receptacles. The runners Hand I5 are preferably of width so as to provide contacting heat exchangesurface over the major area of the bottoms of the receptacles. It ispreferred that the outer edges of the runners II and I5 terminate somewhat short of the outer corners of the cups or receptacles, as shown inFig. 2, so as to provide longitudinal spaces or openings 26 between thelower edges of the flanges lllb and the outer edges of the runnerspermitting the insertion of the fingers so as to eject or force thereceptacles with their frozen contents out of the tray frame.

Various kinds of thermoplastic materials may be used in the fabricationofthe molds or rethroughout the thermoplastic material. Satisfactoryresults have been obtained by dispersing powdered aluminum in theplastic material in quantities on the order of from four to six percentof the weight of the sheet.

I I claim:

1. A liquid freezing device, comprisinga generally rectangular framehaving side and end members and an intermediate double wall rib member,a plurality of liquid freezing receptacles, said members forming spacesfor the reception of liquid freezing receptacles, bottom receptaclesupporting members projecting laterally from the lower edges of thewalls of said rib member, and spaced projections on said rib memberarranged for the reception of a receptacle therebetween, saidprojections terminating short of and being spaced from the adjacent sideor end members.

ceptacles due to the fact that this material enables the cups to bedrawn or molded under heat and pressure and will retain its molded shapeduring usage. Of the various thermoplastic materials I prefer to use amaterial composed of or containing ethyl cellulose as its principalingredient. This material has good properties in. respect to lowtemperature flexibility and toughness, low flammability, stability toheat and inertness to alkalies. This material, as in the case of otherthermoplastic materials, also has the desirable property of fluidpermeability or transmission whereby moisture vapor will penetrate andpass through the pores of the material rapidly. Although thethermoplastic material has a porous structure permitting the passage ofmoisture vapor, it is sufflciently dense so that liquid will not passthrough the walls of the receptacle. Not only is there a distinctadvantage in the use of thermoplastic material, since it may be readilydrawn or formed from the sheet, but this material lessens materially thetendency of the ice or frozen contents to adhere to the side walls ofthe receptacle. The lessening of adherence of the ice block to thereceptacle walls is due to the fact that an actual shrinkage orcontraction of the ice block occurs during the solidification of thewater to ice while freezing. As the ice forms on the side walls of thecontainer, the outer surfaces of the ice change to vapor and thismoisture vapor is drawn or passes through the plastic walls resulting infreeing the ice from the walls to a considerable extent. As a conse-.quence, the ice block is more easily removed from the receptacle thanin the case of other types of ice trays.

I prefer to fabricate the receptacles .or containers with relativelythin walls so as to obtain faster freezing and also increasedflexibility of the sides and bottom of the containers. I prefer wallthicknesses of ten to fifteen thousandths gage. Satisfactory receptacleshave been made 2. A liquid freezing device, comprising a generallyrectangular frame having side and end members and an intermediate doublewall rib member, a plurality of liquid freezing receptacles, saidmembers forming spaces for the reception of said receptacles, bottomreceptacle supporting members projecting laterally from the lower edgesof the walls of said rib member, and spaced projections on said sideframe members arranged for the reception of a receptacle between eachpair of adjacent projections, said projections extending inwardly towardsaid rib and terminating short thereof.

3. A liquid freezing device, comprising a generally rectangular framehaving side and end members and an intermediate double wall rib member,a plurality of liquid freezing receptacles, said members forming spacesfor the reception of liquid freezing receptacles, bottom receptaclesupporting members projecting laterally from the lower edges of thewalls of said rib member, and spaced opposed projections on said ribmember and a side member arranged for the reception of a receptacletherebetween.

4. A liquid freezing device, comprising a generally rectangular framehaving side and end members and an intermediate double wall rib memberforming spaces for the reception of liquid freezing receptacles, bottomreceptacle supporting members projecting laterally from the lower edgesof the walls of said rib member and integral at their ends with said endmembers, a plurality of separate individual liquid freezing receptaclesadapted to rest on said supporting members, and spaced projections onsaid supporting members extending into recesses in the bottoms of saidreceptacles.

5. A liquid freezing device, comprising a generally rectangular framehaving frame members extending around the four sides thereof and alsohaving a double wall rlb integrally joining two opposite frame members,the lower edges of thewalls of said rib being extended laterally toprovide runners integral at their ends with said -last named framemembers, a plurality of separate individual liquid freezing receptaclesadapted to rest on said runners, and spaced projections on said runnersextending into recesses tacles.

a plurality of liquid freezing receptacles, said bottom member having anintegral lupstanding rib extending longitudinally and centrally of the,

'tray frame, and projections extending transverse ly from said sideframe members and additional projections extending transversely fromopposite sides of said rib, said projections forming with said ribspaces for the reception of sai recep- 8. A liquid freezing device,comprisi g a tray frame having side and bottom frame members, aplurality of liquid freezing rece cles, said bottom member having anintegral upstanding rib extending longitudinally and centrally of thetray frame and also continuously at least the major length of thebottom, and integral projections extending transversely from oppositesides of said rib and forming with the latter spaces for the receptionof said receptacles, said projections terminating short of said sideframe members.

9. A liquid freezing device, comprising atray frame having side andbottom frame members, a plurality of liquid freezing receptacles, saidbottom member having an integral upstanding rib extending longitudinallyof the tray frame and also continuously at least the major length of thebottom, and integral projections extending transversely from the side ofsaid rib and forming with the latter spaces vior the reception of saidreceptacles, said projections terminating short of the adjacent sideframe'member.

10.1 A liquid freezing device, comprising a generally rectangular framehaving side frame mem-. bersextending. around the four sides thereof andalso having a bottom formed integrally with an upstanding rib, a numberof individual, liquid freezing receptacles adapted to rest on saidbottom at opposite sides of the rib, and projections on said rib spacedfrom the adjacent side frame 1 members for positioning receptacles inthe spaces at opposite sides of said rib and restraining them againstdispiacement..

11. A liquid freezing device, comprising a generally rectangular framehaving frame members extending around the four sides thereof and alsohaving a bottom formed integrally with an upstanding rib extendingcentrally of the bottom the major length thereof, a number of separateindividual liquid freezing receptacles adapted to resto'n said bottom atopposite sides of the rib, and 'a plurality of spaced projectionsintegral with the frame bottom and extending into recesses in thebottoms of the receptacles for positioning receptacles and restrainingthem against DOUGLAS L. JOCELYN,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: 1

sTA'ras PATENTS Number Name Date 1,407,614 Wicks Feb. 21, 1922 2,053,711Glomb Sept. 8. 1935 2,342,743 Lutes et al. Feb. 29, 1944 2,367,098 ColeJan. 9, 1945 2,389,711 Kitto Nov. 20, 1945

